Saturday, August 22, 2009

I'm well aware that by any standards, I read a lot of trash, but before I get into any of that, it seems that Jay Roach is quickly putting together what might be the funniest cast of 2010.

Roach's "Dinner for Schmucks" is a remake of the French film "Le Diner de Cons," in which guests are expected to bring along the biggest idiot they can find for ridicule. Roach's flick, set to come out in July, was already on the right course by making Steve Carell the principal idiot and also casting seriouslyfunnyman Paul Rudd, and now comes word that Zach Galifianakis is on board too.

Considering that Roach bailed on the "Meet the ..." series to direct this, it can only be considered a case of trading up, and well worth keeping your eyes on.

And speaking of reading on a slightly different subject, Dave Eggers has a great fiction piece in the latest issue of The New Yorker based on Max, the hero of "Where the Wild Things Are." Eggers wrote the screenplay for Spike Jonze's take on the classic Maurice Sendak children's tale, which just happens to be the single movie I'm most looking forward to for the rest of this year (October can't get here fast enough!) You can read Eggers' story here.

But getting back to my reading habits, I work as hard as anyone I know, so when I bother to read a book it's most often for escape or humor. Lately, that's meant Charlaine Harris' sensationally entertaining Sookie Stackhouse novels, and even though the one I'm on now, "Dead as a Doornail," is more than a bit of a dud so far, I'm sure I'll read as many as she bothers to write.

Another, admittedly extremely juvenile, book that just holds a lofty place in my heart is C.D. Payne's "Youth in Revolt." If anyone were to take my recommendation, which it's come to my attention some people occasionally actually do, be warned: The entire premise of this book is the outlandish lengths our 14-year-old hero, Nick Twisp, will go to to have sex with the seductive object of his affection, Sheeni Saunders.

Silly? Extremely, but it's also a scalding satire that writes the teen characters with respect, and now it's somehow being made into movie starring Michael Cera. When I first heard that, I didn't think it could possibly work, because the book isn't just filled with dark humor, it's the blackest of black. But because Cera loves the book too and director Miguel Arteta, who made the simply insane "Chuck & Buck" way back when, isn't afraid of it either, the movie actually got made and is set to come out hopefully everywhere Oct. 30.

And, even more amazingly, the trailer below actually resembles something like what the book looks like in my mind, so count me as psyched. Enjoy the trailer, and have a great weekend. And if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds." Peace out.

About Me

When I was very young, my father brought home a little movie called "Spinal Tap," and I have never been the same since. Along with being a movie junkie and a devoted fan of the hapless Baltimore Orioles, I have recently returned to the town I grew up in, Salisbury, MD., to work for The Daily Times newspaper.